Gotcha
by Minn-Dreamweaver
Summary: And though Piper couldn't see it, she knew. She shivered and knew that she had made a mistake. -oneshot


**AN: **Ya... I have no idea. Maybe I was just bored?

Gotcha

The stillness of the puddle shattered into droplets and ripples as the running foot trampled it underneath. The after-rain chill still hung in the air, thick with humidity, making it hard to breathe.

Piper panted hard as she ran down the empty night streets of Atmosia.

"Piper! Wait!"

But she wouldn't stop. Not even though it was Aerrow's voice calling her back. Because she knew it wasn't him. She knew what he had become.

"Piper!"

But she kept running.

She didn't know where. Just so long as she was away from him. Away from the horrors that walked hand in hand with his presence. In an effort to shake him off, Piper turned sharply down a back alley. It didn't matter that she was placing herself in an even more isolated and dangerous situation. A deep premonition told her it was already over. Because no matter how badly she wanted to, she knew deep down, she could never _completely_ run away from him.

She looked back quickly to see where he was. The bright moonlight glistening off the damp city silhouetted his slender frame near the entrance of the alley. He called for her again.

"NO!" Piper denied in shouts and tears. "Stay away from me!" With a deep chill she remembered that she had once said those words before, but with a completely different meaning. She thought she could hurt him then. She didn't want to. But now it had all changed.

She continued to run.

The moonlight was sharp and cold, yet as she wandered further into the maze of twists and turns it grew darker. She slipped on a smooth cobblestone and felt the sudden plunge then tear as rubble and grime found its way into a newly bleeding scratch. Horrified, Piper stumbled back onto her feet, thinking that the fall would surely result in her capture... but Aerrow was still far away.

The humidity was thick. Another storm was coming.

Aerrow's shouts grew dimmer. In a flutter of panic disguised as hope, Piper thought she may still have a chance. She ran faster in a final burst of endurance in hopes that she could find her way out, and cast him off her tail.

She rounded a corner...

...and met a dead end.

"NO!" Piper yelled, bashing her fists against the cold, unmoving stone. "No! No! No!" But her cries had grown feeble. The small patter of the first drops began to sound.

"Piper..." He chimed it in a soft, sing song yet horribly _wrong_ manner. "Piper, don't run..." His voice was smooth like black silk. Like dark blood.

This time Piper couldn't protest. Her knees simply gave out and she slumped to the ground. It was over.

She saw him as he came out of the shadows and into the ghostly light from above. It was amazing. He still looked the same as ever.

"Piper..." he said it gently, like back when it used to be. The humanity in it made Piper shake and reluctantly look into his eyes. "Piper, _please_."

Piper looked away and shook more violently. It was too painful.

"NO!" She yelled. Her strength of heart and voice had returned. "NO! You're not Aerrow!"

He crouched down before her, and goose bumps rose up her arm. He continued to talk softly the entire time. "Piper, let me explain. You don't understand."

"Stay away from me!" Drops of water flew from her hair as she violently tossed her head and spat her denials at him.

"I understand you're scared." He made like he was going to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but thought better of it. "Piper, it wasn't me. I swear. Please let me explain."

Piper still continued to shake, but the false hope couldn't help but make her look at him. Couldn't help but make her want to believe the lies. "Explain how?" she cried silently. "Junko... Finn... S-Stork..." She closed her eyes and let the tears flow with the rain, waiting for what she knew was coming.

But it didn't. Aerrow continued to sit there. "Piper..." he said, much in the same way he used to speak. "It's Master Cyclonis. I can't explain it all now. But you _have_ to know... I would never do those things."

"But you did..." Piper continued to cry, but this time not sounding so sure. "You did..."

"Piper, how could I? After all out team has been through. After all _we've_ been through..." He paused to let Piper sniffle and grab a hold of her breathing. "Piper, I... you've always been special to me."

Piper made a small noise of a mix between agony and shattered dreams. It could have been what she might have always wanted to hear, but something she knew the true Aerrow would never say. Yet she couldn't move. Why couldn't she get back up and run away?

"Piper, please. I know it might seem like a lot, but I'm asking you to trust me." He held out a hand now cupped against the increased downpour. Knowing it might be a mistake, Piper looked into his eyes and knew she couldn't refuse. He had that smile on his face, the one she could only remember in her dreams. It was Aerrow.

She leaned forward, and took his hand.

Suddenly, he pulled her into a hug, making her gasp in surprise and residual panic.

"You believe me..." Aerrow gasped through the rain. "I knew you would..." And though she knew she shouldn't, knew it was wrong – so _awfully _wrong – she couldn't help but hug him back. She smiled too and laughed in the midst of relief and a broken mind – totally vulnerable.

And his grip on her tightened, strong and very much not how he would have hugged her before. The lines of a smile skewed into those of a sadistic grin. And though Piper couldn't see it, she knew. She shivered and knew that she had made a mistake. She felt it was coming, even before the used-to-be Aerrow spoke. It was one word, filled with humour and delight in the darkest, cruellest joke. It dripped as venom from his lips.

"Gotcha."


End file.
